Taxes are collected so that WE THE PEOPLE as a collective can provide for the whole society, not just those who can pay. It's all based on the idea that our whole society is better off if EVERYONE has access to certain things - like public transit (although you still have to be able to pay a fare, which keeps going up), or paved roads, or schools and libraries. We collect taxes and use them on public projects precisely so that our common life can be just that - common, not restricted to only those who can pay. This whole attitude of "taxpayers" v. "tax-consumers" is anti-American, and it's eroding our society.